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UNITED STATES PATENT Orricn.

GEORGE M. SAYBOLT, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE STANDARDOIL COMPANY OF NEW YORK, OF NEW YORK, N. l

PROCESS OF REFINING PETROLEUM DISTILLATES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 565,040, dated August4, 1896.

A li atio fil d, February 5, 1896. Serial No. 578,138- (No specimens.)

T 0 (LZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE M. SAYBOLT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in theProcesses of Refining Petroleum Distillates; and I do declare thefollowing to be full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My improved process is designed for use in the refining of the burningdistillates of crude petroleum of less than .850 specific gravity, butit is applicable to therefining of the like distillates of similarhydrocarbon oils, such as shale-oil, coal-oil, and the distillates ofbitumen, asphalt, &c. I shall describe it as I have practiced it inrefining petroleum dis tillate. As stated in another patent application,Serial No. 572,082, filed December 13, 1895, I have discovered that bytreating petroleum distillate (after the usual sulfuric-acid treatment)with powdered material such as fullers earth I am enabled to secure aperfectly refined decolorized product free from all objectionablesulfonic compounds, such as will develop on the application of heat,without the need of applying to the distillate the ordinary treatmentwith water and alkaline solution, and that I thus secure a much betterand cheaper product than possible to be obtained from like materials bymethods heretofore used.

The discovery on which the present specification is based is that ifafter the sulfuricacid treatment I Wash the light petroleum distillate(of .350 specific gravity or less) with water, with or without treatmentwith an alkaline solution, and agitate the distillate with powderedfullers earth or its equivalent, as hereinafter explained, I accomplisha result similar to that above indicated, and while the refining is notso thoroughI can use less of the fullers earth, and the fullers earthcan by washing be more easily restored, so as to be capable of repeateduse in the practice of the process. I

In carrying my present invention into effeet I take the unrefinedpetroleum distillate and subject it to the ordinary sulfuric-acidtreatment, that is, I place it in a suitable vessel and add thereto thenon-fuming sulfuric acid of commerce. Fumin g sulfuric acid will attackthe distillate itself as well as the inipurities, and is to be avoidedas deleterious in the practice of my invention. The amount of sulfuricacid to be employed will be understood by those skilled in the art. Thedistillate and acid are then thoroughly mixed by agitation. Theimpurities of the oil attacked by such acid treatmcn t are allowed tosettle in the form of sludge acid and are removed. Such acid treatmentis well known and does not require further description. I then agitatethe distillate thoroughly with water, allow the water with theimpurities to settle and draw it off, and then I may agitate thedistillate with a weak alkaline solution, such as a solution of causticsoda, preferably of about 5 Baum, though this is not necessary, and insome respects I deem it undesirable. Then after settling and removingthe alkaline solution I add to the distillate some powdered fullersearth, and thoroughly agitate the oil therewith for about an hour, moreor less, depending upon the character of the oil and the quantity ofdistillate under treatment. The effect of this agitation is to removethoroughly the obj ectionablc sulfonic salts, which have been producedby reaction of the sulfuric acid with the oil. After such treatment, andthe settling out from the oil of the pulverized fullers earth, the oilis decanted and drawn of, when it will be found to be deodorized, clearin color, completely refined, and free from objectionable compounds.

The process here employed is not a process of filtering, but it is aprocess of agitation, only a relatively small amount of the fullersearth being employed. The proportion of fullers earth proper to be useddepends upon thev proportion of sulfuric acid originally employed. hen.6 per cent. of sulfuric acid of 66 Baum has been used, I prefer to addto the distillate l. 5 per cent. of fullers earth, and as the percentageof acid is increased to proportionately increase the percentage offullers earth, though the proportions may be varied, and my invention isnot limited in scope to the employment of particul r Q O-' portions;

Other comminuted, or crushed solid substantially non-alkalinesubstances, (which will not dissolve in the acid-'treatedoil and producepermanent objectionable sulfur com- I pounds, such, for example, as thesilicates of alumina, bauxite, alumina, clay, charcoal, Y

either vegetable or'animal, or a mixture of them or any of them, may beused, though I deem fullers earth and clay to be most suitable. I I

I claim-..

1. The method hereinbefore described of purifying petroleum distillate,which consists I in treating the burning oil distillate of petroleum ofless than, .850 specific gravity, after its final distillation, withnon-fumingsulfuric acid, and removin g the impurities remaining afterthe acid treatment by agitating such distillate. with water and thenagitating it wit n l divided non lkaline o d mate rial, and therebyremoving the sulfonic salts produced by reaction, of the sulfuric acidwith the oil.

2. The method hereinbefore described of purifying petroleum distillate,which consists in treating the burning oil distillate of petroleumofless than .850specific gravity, after its final distillation, withnonfuming;sulfuric acid, and removing the impuritiesremaining

